


The little sage and the fish

by ILuvFantasies



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Light Angst, Magic, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 07:53:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17894471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ILuvFantasies/pseuds/ILuvFantasies
Summary: She's the sage of the sea who calmly lives her life at the shore... But one day she meets a certain fish who turns out to be a troublesome, mischievious sea man. Having eaten her supply of food, he playfully laughs it off by suggesting they go into town. Reluctantly, she complies...What will happen? Will this story have the happy ending we all desire? Reading is the only way you'll find out.





	The little sage and the fish

The sun was setting as the waves calmly met their end at the shore. On the lonely beach sat a girl who was silently observing them, yet seeming to gaze somewhere beyond them.

That day had been another peaceful one, just like how she was always used to. At the end of each of them she'd stop and meditate about its events, while also not forgetting to analyze the tides; whether a storm was coming, or even a ship. That was rarely the case on her small little land, so she always tiredly looked ahead, possibly daydreaming.

Her moments of quietness were suddenly interrupted by a fish being brought to shore. She blankly looked at it for a few seconds until quickly realizing that wasn't supposed to happen. Letting out confused noises, she quickly encased the small animal into a bubble to ensure its safety. Doing so, she could take a better look, noticing one crucial detail about it: the fish was injured, seemingly not being able to swim properly, and was a very pleasant color of purple. Of course, without a second thought she lent a bit of her energy so it could feel better the next the day.

Luckily, her beach cottage was fairly close, so she wouldn't have to put in a lot of effort into keeping the bubble intact. Hurriedly running to her destination, she found that she had a bit of a hard time getting there without exhausting herself almost completely. Nudging the door with her elbow, it immediately opened as she always left it unlocked. That eased her worries a lot, since she could quickly put the fish in the spare bowl she had laying around. After that, she curiously gazed at it attempt to swim, carefully taking note of other smaller details. Before she knew it, the sun had already set; she had no clue how time could possibly pass by so fast just by staring at a fish, but never mind that. It was time she went to bed and ended the day.

Falling asleep was an easy feat for her, since she was very easily drained after using magic. Sometimes, she wonders... if there was no magic to use, how many sleepless nights would she have gone through? With thoughts like these she falls into slumber, off into a dreamland only she knows of.

~

The sound of seagulls woke her up gently, making her slightly part her eyelids only to be welcomed by the friendly rays of the sun. The instant she did that, she wanted to go back to sleep, but a certain thought was tugging at her mind; the fish she had rescued yesterday was probably still in the bowl. It must have healed by now, so she got up to check on it. For the first time in a long while, she actually left her room excitedly.

Getting to her destination, the fish was as still as ever, as if staring at her. She didn't hesitate to stare back, noticing in the mean time that it still had a few more cuts that hadn't healed yet. That wasn't supposed to happen, since she remembered the amount of energy she lent was fairly generous. Of course, she could always be wrong, as magic wasn't something she had to use very often.

She gently smiled at the fish, trying to instill comfort into it. Quietly promising to be back, she left outside to go on her morning stroll. Its purpose was mainly a patrolling one, but since nothing ever really happened she's learned to make a relaxing activity out of it. The sand was pleasant to step on as always, and the blue sea seemed to never have an end, no matter how far she stared into the horizon. Seagulls were calmly letting out their noises, as if predicting another day of peaceful quietness. She let out a relieved sigh, taking in the unique beauty that laid before her.

And also the two sailors who seemed to be heading straight towards her.

They appeared to be coming from the part closer to the town, and she figured they might be in need of something. She slowly started to walk in their direction, wishing to get it done as quickly as possible so she could resume her stroll. Such a turn of events unsettled her slightly, so it was only natural for her to wish so. Getting closer, she noticed that their clothes were unfamiliar; they must have come from a far away land.

"Are you the sage, little miss?" shouted the taller one; neither of them were very buff, so that boosted her confidence a little. The shorter one appeared quite young too, so she hurriedly walked to them in order to get the distance out of the way.

"Oh, you're just an apprentice... sorry about that." She nodded reluctantly. "Either way, be sure to tell your sage that the sea men around have started wreaking a bit of havoc. It's nothing very serious, but a few of the locals have woken up with some of their most valued items gone. So my comrade here and I decided to pay you a visit to warn you about them. They seem to use their 'magick' or however it's called to turn into fish and sneak into people's homes. Be wary of any suspicious fish you spot, they might just be a sea man. Have a good day, miss!" the taller one didn't wait long and mumbled a quiet 'let's go' to his comrade. All she could do was nod and silently thank them, followed by both parties going their merry ways.

Yet, something about what the sailor said felt oddly familiar... sea men turning into fish and sneaking into homes.... Sneaking into homes.... A purple fish stealing all her valuables.

The instant she came to that realization, she ran as fast as she could, yet a strange feeling of it not being enough was lingering in the back of her mind. Thankfully, she hadn't gone very far so getting to her cottage was an easy feat. Loudly slamming the door, she frantically explored the home with her eyes, only to be met with the sight of a fairly young boy who was stuffing all her precious food into his mouth. She didn't have time to observe his features in detail since she grabbed the huge stick she kept at her doorframe and pointed it towards him.

"What a pain..." he muttered, frowning. That wasn't a very acceptable thing to do from her perspective, so she lightly smacked his foot that was closest to her, making him wince in pain and slightly back away. Taking a moment to examine his features, she noticed that the boy had curvy, purple hair, and that he wasn't wearing any clothes. Looking at his arms, she could see that he was anything but human, since below his elbows laid a pair of decently sized fish fins. The same could be said for his ears too, as their place was taken by one of the signature features of a sea man. And being the young innocent girl she was, she couldn't resist sneaking a glance at his crotch; an empty spot, that's how sea men were.

"I see..." he quietly mumbled to himself, immediately afterwards putting on a friendly grin. "I guess that wasn't very polite of me, huh? Sorry, sorry! Your food was too delicious for me to resist. But it's fine, right?" His sudden change in attitude made her feel slightly insecure, yet she couldn't possibly refuse that cute face. His cheeks were a bit chubby, similar to a child's, while his eyes held a deep color of purple that she could have easily gotten lost into.

"I think...?" her expression was a dead give away to her uncertainty, and the mysterious boy appeared to be taking full advantage of that as his eyes glinted evilly for a slight second.

"Of course it is! You let me into your home, so I just treated myself to your supply of food." He got up, pretended to dust himself off and spoke in a cheerful tone. "It's fi-"

"Y-your legs..." As he stood up, she had a clear view of his small legs fully adorned with faint cuts and bruises. She frowned, distress present in her gaze as she processed the sight in front of her; small, yet dark thoughts invaded her mind. She told herself to calm down, having been reminded of the horrors humans could commit once again. It was as if it was put on display just for her to see. She approached him slowly and he let her do so, all while observing her gestures quietly. "I'll heal them for you-"

"No no no, it's fine! It'll heal soon either way, there's no need for you to use more magic!" he spoke quickly as he softly pushed her away, offering her a confident gaze. She wasn't willing to let it go so easily, but there was something about him that just made her stop in her steps. The gentle smile he had on signaled that everything was alright and there was no help needed; she sighed, giving in to the wishes of the mysterious boy that laid before her.

"Speaking of healing...." He avoided her gaze, seemingly directing his to the mess he made while she was gone. "Your food's going to need a bit of restocking!" he giggled at the crumbs of bread he left all over the spot where he ate, innocently so that she couldn't possibly get genuinely upset with him. At that point, she couldn't even sigh in disappointment. The food she had worked so hard to keep for a long time was gone in an instant, so a wave of sadness engulfed her.

"Then... I'll go explore, maybe... I'll find some seaweed on the way." She turned her back to him, not being able to hide her gloominess at all. She put the stick back in its place, since she considered she had no need for it anymore, and gazed down hopelessly.

"H-hey, why are you looking so down?? I'm not a bad guy, I promise! Oh, and isn't there a town nearby?" the moment he said 'town', she flinched and the aura around her changed.

"There's no town nearby..." the boy looked at her skeptically; no matter how hard she tried to hide it behind her innocent mask, he could easily see through her lackluster lie. She was avoiding his gaze, abnormally stiff in her movements.

"Lying to me, eh? Then I guess I'll have to go on my own..." he made his way to the door, ready to open it; yet he was waiting for her reaction that was delayed for some reason. He glanced at her, but there was nothing out of the ordinary in sight. He shrugged, prepared to go outside... but a menacing presence firmly grasps his shoulder.

"...Where do you think you're going like this?" she sighed. "If you want to go in town, fine. But not... like this." She motions to his clothing, or rather the lack thereof. She sighed once again, taking her worn cloak off and using it to cover his frail, pale body. She remained in nothing but a plain shirt and a ragged skirt that reached all the way to her ankles. "No, this won't do..." she mumbled to herself, walking off to search her drawers. The boy looked at her questioningly, but decided to sit by and watch, despite his curiosity. She pulled out a piece of white fabric, her intentions unclear. Once she was back to facing him, she pinched one of his fins that replaced the ears before attempting to wrap it around his head.

She wasn't as good at tying as she seemed; she failed once, twice, even thrice, all while awkwardly facing him since they were almost the same height. "T-there we go... Let's pretend that didn't happen." He giggled, not long after bringing his index finger to his mouth to signify silence. Despite knowing him for a very short while, she knew that wouldn't be the case. She sighed again, establishing a possible record for herself in sighing, all in a single hour.

"So, how is it?" she asked, just a tad bit proud of herself for coming up with this idea in such a small amount of time. His upper fins were barely visible now, being covered by the fabric and his messy hair; and since the cloak was fairly big, it didn't leave anything for the eye to see. He looked more feminine than masculine, if one were to judge his petite form. She didn't particularly care, and it seemed that he didn't either. Joyfully twirling around, he played with the hems of his newly acquired cloak.

"I feel like a toooootally different person. Imagine all the people I could trick with this! Heheh..." that little laugh was not something to underestimate, yet his attention was quickly stolen by something else. "If we're going to town, people must surely know about the sage, right? I bet they're going to give us free food..." he almost drooled as he visualized the sight in his mind, but her aura seemed to have changed back to the gloomy one.

"Maybe we shouldn't go to town after all... As I said, I'll just go look for some seaweed-"

"No, no, no! I don't want to eat seaweed!! I need big boy food, like bread!" he whined childishly. Her hesitation to answer was showing clearly, so after a little bit of thinking he made a decision.

"I think I have a little idea..." he lightly grabbed a strand of her hair, as if observing it. "Have you ever braided your hair?" his words made her perk up. "Not really... It's not something you can do on your own."

"Well, worry not! I can change your appearance faster than you can say sea men! And don't worry; it's not going to hurt." Despite his genuine reassurance, she couldn't help but feel a little anxious; yet looking at him, she knew she could trust the little fish that snuck into her home to munch on bread.

"Alright..." she kneeled on the floor, her back facing towards him. Soon after, he followed suit, his hands beginning to do the job. His touch was surprisingly gentle, she could feel his fingers lightly brush through her hair; she felt as if it was being caressed.

"You know, you're being quite obedient for a stranger you just met... What if once you turned your back to me I would have done something... irreversible, let's say. Would you still find it in your heart to trust others?"

"I..." that question made her think a bit; yet there was something else that she had to speak up on. "...But you wouldn't hurt me. I know that much."

"Oh, of course! You're a sage. I can't believe I forgot that, you probably can read all my intentions and thoughts like an open book, isn't that right?"

"Not really..." He wasn't exactly wrong, but he was far from the truth. He may not have been that easy to read, though watching his small form being washed away to shore, so hurt he couldn't move, his nervousness when confronted about the injuries on his legs... she had a feeling he wouldn't do something 'irreversible' to her, or to anyone for that matter.

"Aaaaand, here we go! A little braid for a little sage... I think it suits you, what do you say?" She didn't believe a word he said, so she preferred to use the tiny mirror she had laying around. It was incredibly dusty and a bit blurry, but it still managed to do the trick and showed her the reflection of a girl who barely looked like herself. Her face felt alien without the messy bangs sticking to her cheeks; the braid was anything but little, since it reached her knees as her hair was fairly long. Yet there was something missing...

The boy got ahead of her and picked up another white piece of fabric; they both probably came from older clothing, the exact reason unknown. He playfully tied it around her head, giving her a similar look to his. If her face felt alien before, now she was like an entirely different person, getting a better understanding of what the boy meant to say before.

"Thank you... Wait, how should I call you?" to this he shrugged, and she should have expected that. Sea men don't really interact with actual men, and the same stands for all the nice little creatures she met during her life. There was a simple reason for that, one she wasn't too keen on thinking about. Telling her dark thoughts once again to go away, she started to come up with ideas for a name; unfortunately, that didn't work too well in her favor.

"I can already tell you haven't met a lot of people. That's why you can't come up with a name... Such a pity." He didn't keep the gloomy aura for long, since he gleefully spoke after two short seconds. "Call me Kichi! For I, Kichi the first, will be your adorable companion for the day!" he giggled cutely afterwards, bringing a small smile to her face. Not hesitating a single bit, he took her hands in his and stared her in the eye, excitement showing in his features. "Let's go." He whispered, and immediately after he sprinted to the exit, laughing loudly as he ran on the beach, his cloak flowing in the wind; but he didn't seem to care, for he was too absorbed in letting the fresh air caress his body and feeling the soft sand tickle his feet with every step he took. She took off after him, surprised someone could enjoy themselves so much by merely running, yet it all made sense. Not wanting to ruin her good mood, she smiled at the sight and ran after him, but at her own pace.

As they got closer to the town, they slowed down and walked side by side. Despite having stopped running, Kichi was still giddy and full of excitement; it seemed that his eyes had lightened up the instant he left the little cottage. He wouldn't stop babbling about all kinds of things: bread, townspeople, ships, some more bread, all while barely letting her speak a word. She didn't particularly mind; she couldn't remember the last time she saw someone this happy, so his joy was shared with her, but for a different reason. All she could think about was how pleasant his voice sounded as he smiled, as he was practically beaming with elation from every fiber of his being.

"Look, look, we're already here!" he excitedly pointed to the port in sight; what seemed to be a market right next to it. It had been such a long time she's seen that place that the market looked like it expanded ten times in size. From that far they could hear the shouts of merchants and shop keepers alike advertising their deals and offers, and she could barely believe it. A wave of anxiety suddenly hit her, but she managed to comfort herself by glancing at Kichi's vibrant smile.

In order to get to the market place they had to pass through the port, and that would inevitably attract attention as not many people entered town from the beach. Kichi took notice of it and hurried in his steps, but before she could catch up to him, she heard a loud whistle. Turning her head to it, a sailor was waving at her, as if asking her to come over; paying a little more attention, there were two of them, and upon further inspection, the shorter one was actually the young man who had visited her earlier that day together with his comrade. She ran over to them, not looking behind her to check for Kichi.

"You must be the sage's apprentice, right? My nephew here told me about you!" he chuckled, while roughly patting his nephew's back as to show familiarity and make him slightly lose his balance. She wasn't as surprised about that as she was about someone discovering her identity, or at least something remotely close to it, so she broke into a cold sweat, smiling nervously at the overly friendly man. He told her about the sea men breaking into homes, and how it affected some of the locals, even some merchants, but she was more interested in the younger sailor. He hadn't spoken a thing, not even when he came to warn her, and his quiet demeanor attracted her attention. By taking glances at him she could study his features: he had navy blue hair which was a bit ruffled, possibly by his uncle and piercing golden eyes that seemed to gaze anywhere but at her face.

"....I'm an old man, my time to go is soon approaching... The ladies don't flock to me anymore, heheh! C'mon Shuichi, say something to her! You don't get a catch like her every day, y'know what I mean?" he nudged Shuichi with his elbow, making him yet again lose his balance, but this time there was also a light blush spread on his cheeks. She could also feel her face burn up, but still brought herself to make eye contact and smile.

"H-hello..." nothing more than that left his mouth, and the instant his gaze met hers he got even more flustered and tried to subtly cover his eyes by putting his hand on his face. That didn't work. Instead of speaking she chose to shyly nod, feeling her cheeks redden even more in embarrassment.

"You're such a lovely miss, aren't ya! Here ye go." He hands her a small bag and she could hear the coins chink as soon as it touched her palms. She was more than ready to express her endless gratitude by nervously mumbling 'thank you' over and over, but she was interrupted by the uncle's words. "Don't ya worry little miss, go buy yourself something nice. If you ever need any advice I'll be here for a while, so come right over! Shuichi here will help ya too, he's a good guy. Have a good day!"

"Y-y-you too...!" she was too overwhelmed by the sudden gift that she couldn't properly think. She hesitatingly held the bag in her hands, staring at it flustered. The old man went back on the ship, while she was left alone with only herself and the coins... Or so she thought.

"I... I'm sorry. My uncle can be a b-bit boisterous at times... I hope he didn't bother you too much..."

"No no, it's fine! You looked more bothered than me anyway..."

"I did...? T-that wasn't m-my intention, I think you're lovely actually... I m-mean-!" the moment he processed what he just said he tried to cover his face again, but it was too late; the damage had already been done, both of their faces looked like hot peppers, especially hers. "I'm sorry... again. Let me just...." He rummaged a bit through his pockets, pulling out a beautifully shaped seashell. "Since you're an apprentice, I t-thought you might like this..." he handed it to her, and she could barely believe her eyes; for the second time today, she was gifted something out of nowhere, but most of all she actually went into town just because she met a certain troublesome sea man....

_Uh oh._

"K-kichi! I completely forgot about him, I can't believe myself... I'm sorry, but I have to go find him! He's not very familiar with the town and I'm a-afraid he might get lost..."

"It's alright... I understand. I'll... s-see you around?"

"Yes! Definitely! Thank you very much!" she quickly bows to him and hurries away, without getting to take a clear look at his face. She frantically looks around, but to no avail; Kichi is nowhere to be found, it was like he got swallowed by the earth-

"Hmph. 'I think you're lovely' my butt." He spoke from behind her, and she couldn't tell how he managed to get there that fast, but that wasn't the point.

"Wh-, where were you?? You got me very worried for a moment there..."

"Aww, you're worried for me? That's very cute, and let me correct what that guy said real quick, you aren't lovely, that's a bad word; you're outright gorgeous! Every time I look at you, my heart flutters, and I c-can feel myself blushing a dark crimson... Is this love?!" he presses his palms to his cheeks in order to hide the nonexistent blush, and all she could do was face palm. "Hnnnnghhhh... Flirting with other boys behind my back... I will not accept this!"

"Flirting or not... at least he has some manners." She couldn't help but swiftly stick her tongue out at him after saying that, so he gasped loudly and clasped at his chest dramatically.

"H-how...? My dearest... Guh..." he was slowly starting to fake a death now, but she wouldn't have it.

"Look, do you want your big boy bread or not? Because, if we don't hurry up I might just give you some seaweed instead. How does that sound?"

"Playing dirty now are we? Very well... I'm going to play dirty too..." he got dangerously close to her, so much so that she could feel his breath on her neck. "To the markeeeeeet...." He whispered ominously in her ear and she smacked his forehead to make him stop. Very effective!

"Weeeh... to the markeeeet..." he spoke in a quiet voice, tears pooling in his eyes. She got really worried she might have hit him too hard, and that was the complete opposite of what she was supposed to do as a sage. Her anxiety was hitting her hard, making it more difficult to organize her thoughts.

"A-are you okay?? I didn't mean to hit you, I'm sorry-"

"Nahhh, it's no fun if you get this bothered. Let's just go to the market, we're bringing attention to us by staying in the same spot." His tears turned out to be anything but real, and the most she could do was nod and let out a little 'oh'.

The moment they finally reached their destination, both her and Kichi were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people gathered in one single place. The shouts have gotten increasingly louder, and to top it all off people were extremely noisy too; instead of talking they chose to yell, making the place even more of a mess than it already was. Yet Kichi's sight was set on one thing only, and that was the fresh, exotic looking fruits that made his mouth water.

"I. Need. Those." She turned her eyes to them and in a second she was almost drooling too, but she quickly reminded herself that the budget was limited to the few coins she got as a gift.

"Look, we have to get only what we need, and that is bread. You don't have any coins, so I should-" she was interrupted by a sharp chinking noise coming from him, and she stared at him shockingly as the coins he was holding were almost as big as his whole hand. Seeming to be silver, they also had an important looking seal on them, which was highly detailed too.

"Where..."

"It's a secret~! But don't worry, I didn't steal them, I'm not a thief sea man like the ones you've heard! So you better not be jumping to conclusions... Stupid sailors, filling my dearest's head with stupid ideas..." she was more than sure he mumbled that loud enough for her to hear. Instead of feeling disappointed like usual, she couldn't get over the coins he happened to carry on him; it just didn't make any sense. Her thoughts wandered to a dark place, such as:

_Did he pull them out of his butt?!_

To that, only he knew the answer.

"Hmm... but I don't know if they'll work. Different places have different coins right? So they're pretty much useless." He said as he put them back to where they came from: his cloak. Yet from where exactly, she couldn't tell. _Maybe it's a sea man power...?_

"This is so sad... I'll have to give up on the fruits, buuuuuut- THERE'S BREAD!" he loudly shouted and she wondered how nobody paid him any mind. He grinned widely, but his smile was far from being as huge as the loaves of bread put on display. They've found their target, and both of them bolted right to it. The woman in charge of the sale was delighted to have such joyful youth as customers, and she even offered them a discount. Luckily, she could buy bread for another week, but also keep a few coins for later use. She couldn't express her gratitude enough, and while she was fumbling around in front of the woman, Kichi had ran off who knows where, worrying her yet again.

"K-kichi...?" this time he didn't pop up from behind her immediately, making her even more afraid. "KICHI!" she shouted again, loud enough for everyone to hear; but it was no use, people kept giving her blank stares and resuming their work afterwards. Unlike before, she had a worsening feeling in her gut that she couldn't get rid of.

Soon enough, she noticed where the people's attention was directed: they formed a circle around something, and she feared for the worst as the angry shouts of a man disturbed the market. The passerbyers wouldn't budge easily, so she had to use every ounce of her strength to get through. When she did get there, the sight was simply horrifying. Everyone was staring at the same thing: the poor sea man held in the air by his neck, while a buff mercenary was yelling for his money back. She was in too much shock to react, since seeing Kichi so defenseless like that pained her deeply. She felt powerless, so she clasped at her chest to try and make some of the nausea go away.

That wasn't the end of it; Kichi wasn't answering, all he did was glare at his attacker while seeming to sweat nervously, and the mercenary smirked, not long after pulling out a sharp dagger and pointing it at one of his ear-fins. At that point not even Kichi could hold his ground, as the weapon was too close for comfort.

She felt sick. A few centimeters were needed for the dagger to slice the guilty boy's fin, but she did not like that one bit. She knew very well that Kichi was in the wrong for stealing, but that smirk disgusted her. It wasn't fair.

"Ye and yer little buddies... daring to come this close to me and steal my money... Ye have no worth in this world, ye hear?! All yer good fer is swimming... I wouldn't stain me weapon like this, so be happy I did, ye fish fer brains!" And so the dagger went; it could only cut him slightly before the whole port shook. The waves had gotten awfully wild, as if controlled by the wrath of the sea. If glares could kill, the mercenary would be standing long dead in that spot with how intense her eyes seemed. That wasn't nearly enough to contain her rage, so she spoke the loudest she'd ever done.

"Let him go." There was no need for her to raise her voice, as it echoed through the whole town together with the waves. The crowd couldn't even start to whisper since the fear they felt when faced with her was too strong; they backed away, not wanting to get involved in anything that would follow. Fortunately, the mercenary had no choice but to comply since not even he could stand up to a sage of the sea. He let go of Kichi, making him land on his butt forcefully, and spat on the ground near him. He mumbled something inaudible and not long after he retreated back to the alley he came from.

Kichi was sitting on the ground, holding his hand to his ear. It was no surprise that he was bleeding from it, the drops swiftly making their way to the ground. The sight was supposed to fill her with unimaginable disgust, yet what she was feeling was far from it. The sudden turn of events overwhelmed her so much so that her thoughts were jumbled and her emotions in a mess. One thing was keeping her from losing sight of herself and that was the small whimpering boy in front of her. She approached him and kneeled right next to him; he looked terrified, seemingly real tears staining his cheeks and so he started apologizing over and over, but she paid his words no mind.

"Let me see." He nodded slightly, possibly as to not hurt his fin more and stopped speaking, having taken notice of her firm stoic expression. He let his palm drop to his side, giving her full view of the cut. Despite not having dealt with something of the sort before she managed to easily keep her cool. All she wished was for everything to stop, and she had every intention to reach that conclusion herself if she must. She lightly caressed his fin and let her energy engulf it, before the cut slowly closed, already appearing faint.

He raised his head to face her and spoke quietly, "I-I'm s-s-sorry, I d-didnt-!" Before he could continue, she silently put her index finger on his lips as to shush him. For once, he listened and stood up after her, following right behind with his head laying low as she hurriedly walked to the beach, forgetting the white piece of fabric on the ground. Unbeknownst to her, the two sailors she talked to earlier that day were staring at her curiously, but Kichi couldn't be brave enough to tell her that. Soon enough, they passed the port and finally stepped on sand; it could be seen much clearer now, a storm was brewing: the clouds had turned grey and the waves angrily hit the shore, despite not having shown any signs in the morning.

When they finally reached the cottage, she opened the door for him but didn't follow. "Stay here and don't leave this place." Her voice uncharacteristically demanding, she slammed the door not waiting for an answer. She didn't want to deal with anything, and she intended to do so by taking a little walk. Thoughts overwhelmed her soon enough, and those calm little steps turned into full on sprinting to who knows where.

_I could have done better._

_That's not how I should act._

_I'm a failure._

She never chose to become a sage, a title like that was too huge for a little unknowing girl like her. Sooner than later, her disappointment shifted towards everything else: the dagger, the mercenary, the ignorant crowd and even the nice sailors she happened to meet. Her emotions knew no bounds as she blamed the world for how awful they treated Kichi and made her lose control; but no matter how much she tried to run, it all came back to her and her lack of wisdom. It started raining before she knew it, the water mixing in with the salty tears dripping down her face.

_It wasn't supposed to be this way._

She headed straight towards the wrathful sea, not caring whether she got her clothes wet. Because of the current her braid came undone, the white piece of fabric loosely hung from a strand of hair, and the more she walked the stronger the wind was. As the sea engulfed her lower body, so did the unfamiliarity of all the things she felt at the time.

_Stop it._

But it wouldn't stop. Even as the water reached her chest, the thoughts wouldn't go away. All the loneliness she felt all those years, and how suddenly she was thrown back into the fray she tried so hard to escape all this time. The common misunderstandings, the endless fearful gazes, and the ever present cruelty.

_Stop._

One word wouldn't be enough. People would never change, and so the sea complied and swallowed her suffering.

~

A voice. A soothing tone. A gentle caress. And the soft sand of the shore. Slowly coming back to her senses, she opened her eyes only to be met with the all too familiar purple ones. His face felt a little different and upon further inspection, he now had small markings under his eyes, appearing to represent tides; not being usual color of blue they matched his hair.

"Kichi..." she whispered his name in order to assure herself what was currently happening was indeed real, and she had the sea man she had become acquainted with to prove her right.

"Yes, little sage?" He spoke in an unexpected gentle tone, as if he were an entirely different person; but he couldn't fool her, since she saw right through his disguise. A huge grin was tugging at his lips, barely being able to hold in his laughter. In the end, he couldn't help it, so he let out a heartfelt chuckle. "Sorry, sorry! I just had to, since I'm showing myself to you like this and all..." It was a wonder how he managed to keep a soft tone, his voice instilling calmness in her. Yet, confused by what he meant she looked at him questioningly. All he did was grin cheekily, as if telling her to check it herself. He laid his back on the sand, right next to her, and so she sat up, with no expectations, yet what she saw was something she couldn't have ever imagined.

A real life merman, or mermaid? She didn't know, was basking in the sunlight, all while flashing her a dazzling smile. His tail was much longer than one would expect if they were to judge by his sea man form; adorned with deep purple scales it ended in two perfectly crescent shaped fins which brought a little diversity to his look by being slightly transparent. But what captured her attention was the face of the merman in question.

She couldn't even bring herself to say his name, for she was too awestruck to properly mouth anything. 'Kichi' took it upon himself to break the silence, going back to his cheeky tone. "When you told me to not leave the cottage, you know I was bound to do it anyway. And I'm glad I did, you got me worried sick! I didn't even know if I could catch up to you, the sea was completely bonkers!" He sighed, trying to mimic a worrisome mother. Her thoughts were completely elsewhere as she remembered the events that led to that situation in the first place. Her aura had turned gloomy, but he wouldn't let that happen.

"...Do you really think you caused that storm? Do you?" She had no choice but to nod, since that was the truth. "Sorry sweetie, but that wasn't you. Even though you would have wished it was." To that, she gazed at him confusedly.

"As you can clearly see from my beautiful face, I'm not just _any_ merman, so naturally, I can do things others can't. Like cause a storm for example; don't let my innocent facade from back then fool you, that was just my cover. It wouldn't be nice if people found out who I was now, would it?" Before she could ask about what bothered her the most, she got cut off rudely. "And yes, I used you as my main cover. I'm not the little innocent fish you thought I was, I'm pretty sure I've told you before to not trust strangers so easily. What did you do? Trusted me anyway and got your reputation ruined. Too bad! At least you can say I made up for it by saving you from the sea you somehow walked into..." he spoke bitterly and she let her head hang low.

"Well, not like it matters. I'll be going away soon either way, and as you can see I can clearly take care of myself. So don't think there was ever something between us-"

"Your ear."

"Can't you see I'm speaking? I don't care about what you have to say-"

"Show me your ear."

"Tch... fine then, if you're so insistent... I don't get why it matters though..." she extended her arm to the fin that got hurt and he let her do so with a pout on his face. It was inevitable that she'd notice the playful expression he was wearing, so she lightly pinched the other fin while wearing a pout herself.

"That's for being mean. And this..." touching the injured fin, she lent as much energy as she could to make the faint cut disappear completely. "...Is for you to have a safe travel." Her face relaxing, she couldn't possibly bring herself to be genuinely mad at him; it was as if something suddenly put a stop to her negative feelings for the moment. Despite what Kichi was saying, she felt weirdly safe with him around.

Expecting him to mock her and vanish as quickly as he came, she was surprised to notice that the outcome was anything but. All the playfulness seemed to have been drained from him completely and all that remained was a pained frown. Quickly regaining his composure, he put on a blank expression.

"...Why did you have to make this harder? That could have been it, just a mischievous merman who happened to ruin your reputation, so why the hell do I deserve a safe travel?" She could tell he was close to losing it, no matter how hard he tried to keep a neutral farce. That told her everything she needed to know.

"...you really are as harmless as I thought, Kichi."

"And you really are more stubborn than I expected, that's for sure. That means we're even then."

An awkward silence overtook them, before he swiftly broke it. "I'm still going to have to leave, you know? I can't stay somewhere too long, you've already seen why."

"But, you could stay here-"

"No. Everyone in town already thinks you're some wicked witch, and now you want everyone to believe you're in cahoots with the mermen?? Just... look, you can do so much better than this. Don't stoop to my level." She couldn't think up a good reply, so she avoided his gaze, hoping he would change his mind. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the case.

"Good. Don't say anything anymore. There's no need to." He spoke hurriedly. "...I have something for you too." Hesitantly, he moved his face very close and pressed his lips to hers. She completely froze in her movements, letting him do as he pleased; his mouth was surprisingly moist, making her experience that much better. She closed her eyes and gave into his touch, returning the kiss. Despite being her first time, she synced with him just right, leading to them both leaning in even more to feel each other. At the same time, she could tell a thin string was being tied around her neck, and before she could process the feeling he pulled away.

"Now you won't ever forget me this way, since I stole your first kiss. This is payback for caring about me so much..." he glanced thoughtfully to the sea, not long after offering her a bittersweet smile. "So, see you never! Unless I appear in your dreams that is..."

"...I wouldn't forget you even if you didn't steal my first kiss. You made me really happy."

"I don't understand why, but alright... Say whatever you'd like." He covered his eyes with his hand, and mumbled a quiet 'goodbye'. Soon enough, he threw himself into the sea, never to be seen again.

The sun was rising as the waves swiftly met their end at the shore. On the beach sat a lonely girl who was silently weeping, the only comfort that remained being the pearl shaped necklace she held tightly in her palm.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd be overjoyed to hear your feedback on this since I really enjoyed writing it. Criticism is more than welcome, and if there's something you didn't like feel free to share your opinion. If you don't have to say any of these things, telling me how this made you feel would be a good idea. I want to know if what I wrote was strong enough to reach you, and if you don't want to that's perfectly fine. Have a nice day and I hope I'll see you later in some of my future works.


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